Flow bean



Aug. 18, 1936. D. G. LoRRAiNE FLOW BEAN Filed July 21, 1931 ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 18 1936 UNITED STATES 2,051,307 now BEAN David G.Lorraine, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor of one-half to W. L. Borough andone-half to Sara R. Lorraine Application July 21,1931, Serial No.552,091

4 Claims. '(Cl. 251167) I *5 for ready replacement without disturbingthe pipe line and so mountedas to eliminate chattering and insureaccurate alinement of the cooperating throat and valve.

It is a further object of the invention to mount 1'0- the throat and itscooperating valve so that inadvertent bending of the pipe line will notshift the throat and valve out of alinement.

It is a. still further object of the invention to adjustably restrictthe orifice of the throat withl 5- out in any way obstructing the flowbeyond the restriction, thereby avoiding sanding-up or cutting-out ofthe bean, and eliminating flow disturbance and thus reducing emulsion.

It is a still further object of the invention to 20 provide aconstruction whereby the flow may be cushioned as it enters the bore ofthe throat,

1 thereby avoiding cutting-out the bore at its intake end which is theportion thereof otherwise subjected to the greatest wear.

25 Further objects of the invention will be readily understood from thefollowing description of the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the flow-bean, partly broken away in axialsection.

30 Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig.- 1.

The flow bean comprises a casing l, shown as a T-fltting or cruciformhead having nipples 2 and 3 adapted for threaded engagement with 35pipes or conduits I and 4a respectively. A throat or choke collar 5 ismounted in nipple 2, with a cooperating tapering valve 6 axially aliningwith the throat and connected to a valve stem 1 which projectsrearwardly through 40 an opposite lateral port 8 101 the T-fltting. Thevalve stem is mounted in a sleeve plu terminating in a yoke 9 whichprojects rearwardly from port 8 of the T-fltting, with the valve stempreferably packed-oil by a usual pack- 45 ing gland l and the outer endof the valve stem threaded through a bushing II for longitudinaladjustment of the valve stem by rotating a hand wheel l2. The valve stemmay be releasably fixed in longitudinally adjusted posi- 50 tion bymeans of a locking nut l3, and its longitudinal adjustment may beindicated by a collar ll which is fixed on the valve stem forcooperation with a graduated scale l carried by the yoke. 55 The yoke,together with valve 6 and its stem 1, is thus readily removable-withoutdisturbing conduit 4, and when the yoke is removed the throat 5 which isof smaller diameter than the port 8 is adapted for withdrawal andreplacement through said open port of the T-fitting 5 without disturbingthe conduits 4 or do, and the valve 6 is adapted for replacement. byproviding a threaded connection It between the valve and its stem. 1

The threaded connection it may be locked by 10 a split washer ll havingits ends oppositely bent for reception, in cooperating notches l8 in theproximate surfaces of the valve and its stem; and the-throat 5 may bereleasably held in operative position in the T-fitting by means of athreaded engagement IS, with a head of the throat adapted for engagementby a suitable tool for tightening or releasing said threaded engagement.

The throat 5 is elongated so that its bore is 20 adapted to direct theflow for an appreciable distance before and-after the point of maximumrestriction produced by the cooperating valve 6, in order that the flowmay be gradually instead of abruptly restricted; and the elongatedthroat is adapted for mounting in casing I so as to eliminate thepossibility of chattering, and without the possibility of the throatbeing moved out of exact alinement with its cooperating valve as aresult of any bending tendency of the pipe line 4 which is connected tothe nipple 2;

For this purpose the threads F9 are provided on that end of throat 5which is adjacent its head 20 and extend an appreciable distance alongthe throat, so that when the throat is threaded into the bore of nipple2, with the head 20 abutting against a cooperating shoulder of the bore,the throat is positively supported along the entire length of its rearend portion except for the longitudinally restricted length of therearwardly projecting head 20. The throat is thus positively supportedagainst any possibility of chattering as is liable to occur if anyappreciable length of the throat projects rearwardly beyond itssupporting engagement with the bore of nipple 2. The 5 forward end ofthe throat, which due to the elongated threaded engagement I9 at itsrear end may be loosely received in the bore of nipple 2 withoutliability of the throat chattering, preferably terminates short of thethreads 4' which are formed on the nipple, so that any bending tendencyof the pipe 4 which is threaded to nipple 2, is not transmitted to thethroat and the latter is supported to the integral and rigid T-flttingat a point sufliciently longitudinally spaced from the threadedconnection for the pipe that any bending tendency of pipe 6 will notbend that portion oi! the rigid fitting which engages the throat.'

The throat and its cooperating valve are also .mounted so that theT-fitting may be of restricted obstructing flow through the T-fittingbetween nipple 3 and the inner end of the bore of the.

throat. For this purpose the threaded engagement IQ for the throat 5 aswell as the threaded engagement 24 for the yoke 9, are so positionedthat the throat 5 is at one side of the longitudinal passageway or borewhich is formed by the nipple 3, and the valve stem 1 is guided andsupported throughout its entire length except for the relatively shortdistance across this longitudinal bore between the inner end of the yokeand the inner end of throat 5. In other words the throat 5 in whichvalve 6 is received and the yoke 9 which guides the stem 1 of the valve,are short-coupled in the cross bore of the T-fitting, i. e. the innerend 01' the yokeis spaced from the inner end of the throat only thedistance necessary to clear the diameter of the longitudinal bore of theT- fitting. As a consequence flow through the T- bore eliminatingdisturbance of the flow fitting between nipple 2 and the inner end ofthroat 5 is non-obstructed, but at the same time only a very shortlength 01' stem 1 and valve 6 is left unsupported between the guide yoke9 and thecooperating throat 5.

The bore oi. throat 5 cooperates with tapering valve 6 so as to provideany desired restriction in the flow by longitudinally adjusting thetapering valve; and the bore of the throat is so arranged as togradually restrict the flow toward the minimum area of the orifice, andthen relieve said restriction relatively shortly, if not substantiallyimmediately beyond said point of maximum restriction. For this purposethe minimum crosssectional area of the bore of the throat is at a point2| spaced longitudinally from the respective ends or the bore, and thebore divergently tapers at 22 and 23 toward the respective ends of thethroat, with the tapering portions 22 and 23 preferably startingsubstantially immediately beyond the maximum restriction 2|, and in anyevent starting only a relatively short distance beyond said point ofmaximum restriction. It will thus be seen that the cross-sectional areaof the flow is appreciably increased substantially immediately beyondpoint 2| as a result of the divergence of the end of the bore startingsubstantially immediately beyond said point; and restriction of the fiowbeyond point 2| is thus appreciably and substantially immediatelyrelieved so as to avoid the possibility of sanding-up or cutting-out ofthe bean, with said appreciable and substantially immediate increase inthe cross-sectional area of the such as might tend to cause emulsion.

A fluid cushion is provided at the annular space between the bore 01'nipple 2 and the forward'end of the throat which is loosely receivedtherein, whereby violent surging of fluid in said annular space isprevented and cutting-out by sand or the like is thus avoided. As aninstance of such fluid cushion the outer end of the throat beyond thethreads 16 maybe of restricted diameter and the surrounding bore of theT-flttlng may be 01' increased diameter so as to form an appreciableannular space 26 surrounding the outer end 01 the throat and extendingan apprcciable,longispaced from the bore of the throat, with saidtudinal distance corresponding to the elongated non-threaded outer endof the throat; and the bore of the pipe 6 which is connected to nipple 2is or appreciably greater diameter than the external diameter of saidouter end of the throat 5 so as to communicate freely with the space 26in order that it may be filled with fluid. When the flow is throughthe'bore of,,the throat and thence into the bore of pipe 6, the enlargedbore of said pipe also provides an effective expansion space avoidingrestriction inthe flow beyond the throat. The space 26 is of a radiusappreciably greater than merely a slight clearance space ,such forexample as would result from simply discontinuing the threads l9. As aninstance of this is arrangement the external diameter of the outer endof the throat is restricted to a greater degree than merely the depth ofthe threads l9, and/or the surrounding bore of the nipple 2 is enlargedto a greater degree than merelythe depth of said 20 threads. The space26 is thus adapted to receive more than mere seepage of fluid, and is ofaradius to receive an appreciable body or fluid such as will form anefiicient fluid cushion. The fluid constituting this cushion is trappedin the space 26, 25 since the threaded engagement l9 closes-the innerend of said space, and the outer end of the throat 5 and the surroundingwall of the bore of nipple 2 respectively define the inner and outerperipheries or said cushion space along its en- 30 tire length, withonly the outer end of the cushion space open to the fluid flowingthrough the bean and its pipe connections.

For the purpose of inspection and cleaning, the upper end oi. thelongitudinal bore or the head 35" I may be closed by a removable plug'20. v

In order to further avoid cutting-out by sand, the head 20 of the throatwhich is adapted for engagement by a suitable tool, preferably has itsrecesses 25 which are engaged by the cooperating tool, positioned wherethey are clear oi. the bore of the throat so as to avoid channeling; andfor this purpose the recesses 25 are shown as notches cut in the outerperiphery of head 26 and radially 46 notches adapted for engagement by asuitable tool (not shown) having cooperating prongs adapted to engagethe notches for rotating the throat.

, The invention thus provides an extremely enlcient adjustable flowbean, with the throat and its cooperating valve readily replaceablewithout disturbing the pipe line, and said valve and throat shortcoupledwithout obstructing flow through the bean and thereby insuring accurateallnement or the valve and throat, and the throat positively supportedfor an appreciable distance along its inner end so as to avoidchattering, and the throat mounted so that the flow may be' cushioned,with the bore of the throat gradually 60 restricting the flow and thensubstantially immediately relieving said restriction independently ofthe cooperating valve which merely adjusts the cross-sectional area ofthe orifice at the point of maximum restriction.

I claim:

1. In a flow bean,- a casing having a longitudi-' nal bore and acrossbore communicating therewith at one side of the longitudinal bore, athroat, the innerend oi the throat having an abutment 70 head extendingonly a short distance longitudinally or the throat, an appreciablelength of the inner end portion or the throat and the wall of the crossbore being threaded .tor removably mounting the throat in the cross borewith the 7s ammo? abutment head engaging the wall of the casing whichsurrounds the cross bore, the parts being so arranged that when thethroat is mounted in the cross bore the abutment head is adjacent butclears the longitudinal bore, the outer end of the throat and thesurrounding wall of the cross bore comprising cooperating elementsdefining a radial space therebetween formed by laterally offsetting thesurface of at least one of said elements to a depth appreciably greaterthan the depth of said threads so as to form a cushion space ofappreciable radial width surrounding the outer end of the throat, saidcushion space being closed along its entire length by said cooperatingelements, and being closed at its inner end by the threaded engagementbetween the inner end of the throat and the wall of the cross bore, andbeing open at its outer end to flow through the fiow bean, means at theouter end of the cross bore whereby a pipe which has a bore ofappreciably greater diameter than the external diameter of the throatmay be connected to the cross bore, the casing having a port inalinement with the cross bore at the opposite side of the longitudinalbore, a valve cooperating with the inner end of the throat, a stem forthe valve, and a guide for the stem removably mounted in said port withits inner end adjacent but clearing the longitudinal bore, the externaldiameter of the throat being less than the diameter of said port wherebywhen the guide is removed the throat may also be removed through saidport.

2. In a fiow bean, a casing having a longitudinal bore and a cross borecommunicating therewith at one side of the longitudinal bore, a throat,the inner end of the throat having an abutment head extending only ashort distance longitudinally of the throat, an appreciable length ofthe inner end portion of the throat and the wall of .the cross borebeing threaded for removably mounting the throat in the cross bore withthe abutment head engaging the wall of the casing which surrounds thecross bore, the parts being so arranged that when the throat is mountedin the cross bore the abutment head is adjacent but clears thelongitudinal bore, the

outer end of the throat and the surrounding wall of the cross borecomprising cooperating elements defining a radial space therebetweenformed by laterally offsetting the surface of at least one of saidelementsto a depth appreciably greater than the depth of said threads soas to form a cushion space of appreciably radial width surrounding theouter end of the throat, said cushion space being closed along itsentire length by said cooperating elements, and being closed at itsinner end by the threaded engagement between the inner end of the throatand the wall of the cross bore, and being open at its outer end to flowthrough the fiow bean, the casing having a port in alinement with thecross bore at the opposite side of the longitudinal bore, a valvecooperating with the inner end of the throat, a stem for the valve, anda guide for the stem removably mounted in said port with its inner endadjacent but clearing the longitudinal bore.

3. In a fiow bean, a casing having a longitudinal bore' and a cross borecommunicating therewith at one side of the longitudinal bore, a throat,the inner end of the throat having an abutment head, the throat beingmounted in the cross bore with the inner end portion of the throatengaging the wall of the cross bore and with the abutment head adjacentbut clearing the longitudinal bore and engaging the wall of the casingwhich surrounds the cross bore, the outer end of the throat and thesurrounding wall of the cross bore cooperating to define a cushion spacetherebetween, open at its outer end to flow through the fiow bean, thecasing having a port in alinement with the cross bore at the oppositeside of the longitudinal bore, a valve cooperating with the throat, astem for the valve extending across the longitudinal bore, and a guidefor the stem mounted in the port with its inner end adjacent 'butclearing the longitudinal bore.

4. Ina flow bean, a casing having a longitudinal bore and a cross borecommunicating therewith at one side of the longitudinal bore, a throatmounted in the cross bore with the inner end of the throat engaging thewall of the cross bore and adjacent but clearing the longitudinal bore,the outer end of the throat and the surrounding wall of the cross borecooperating to define a cushion space therebetween, open at its outerend to flow through the flow bean, the casing having a port in alinementwith the cross bore at the opposite side of the longitudinal bore, avalve cooperating. with the throat, astem for the valve extending acrossthe longitudinal bore, and a guide for the stem mounted in the port withits inner end adjacent but clearing the longitudinal bore.

DAVID G. LORRAINE.

